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B.I.R. Column Of Fame

Man of Steel... Wood... and Mud: Bear GryllsRock Legend: Tom Morello

League Gods: The Emperor and Alfie

Str-8 Shoota: Malcolm X

Str-8 Shoota: Zack de la Rocha

Super Bad mofo's

Comrade Hillary

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Look who's moving in next door, or not

Young New Zealanders are being forced out of the property market by high prices as rich Chinese buy up the country's properties screamed the Herald last week.

Chinese nationals are moving into the New Zealand property market as Kiwis find the dream of owning their own home slipping away due to high prices. Despite the Demographia International Housing Affordability survey released this week finding New Zealand to be one of the world's costliest places to buy a home, price does not seem to be a barrier for wealthy Chinese nationals who are being blocked from buying second or third homes in China.

The article suggests rich Chinese are motivated by the "higher prestige and status" that comes with increased home ownership - and presumably the opportunity to turn these houses into opium dens too.

As the Chinese government begins restricting multiple house sales at home, the Herald infers, the Chinese are buying up family homes here forcing true blue jandal-wearing Kiwis into poverty.

But then here's the catch, here's the quote from the one Real Estate company the journalist actually talked to:

"There hasn't been an increase in the number of sales, but certainly the inquiries are starting to come in," said managing director Peter Thompson. He said he could not say how many properties in the past six months were sold to Chinese nationals because the agency did not keep a record of the nationalities of buyers.

So is there any evidence at all in this story to suggest the Chinese are increasingly buying up Hone and Elizabeth's first dream home?

The sole example of a Chinese national *actually trying* to buy property the Herald gives is this:

A licensed immigration adviser, whose client is among the 43 Chinese (high net wealth individuals looking to emigrate here) said his client had also asked him to search for a commercial property around the $2 million price range.

How many young kiwis looking to get into the property market are looking at $2 million commercial properties?

Perhaps if the Herald went to the North Shore of Auckland it'd see communities full of English and South African nationals - possibly motivated by prestige and status (or just by the need for a roof over their families' heads) - buying up young kiwis' houses too.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Public Enemy - House Of The Rising Son

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Finally, a resolution

DC Red threw me a bone this morning.

I was wondering whether it was a bad thing that I hadn't bothered with the normal (isn't it?) start-of-year navel gaze and framed any resulting decisions or revisions as 'New Year's Resolutions'. (New Year's Resolutions are so last year.)

DC Red challenged me to take a punt on Aussies to win Ashes 5. But my TAB account swallowed $500 last year and I had to put it aside, and I don't think I should go there again. But perhaps... yes; if I were to frame it as a resolution. If I were to resolve to win back last years losses, then my weakness for gambling would be... something I was working on (a la NY resolutions)... whilst gambling! Brilliant!

So, I've dropped $70 into my TAB account. I aim to take the balance from $70.10 to $600 without topping it up, this year. I figure $600 is a the return of principal plus a bit of interest.

I figure it'll be hard, but I have a strategy. I'll let you know how I go.